MOVING CUP PARTICULATES FEEDER USED IN LABORATORY FCC UNIT

A particulates feeder was designed in which a bed of solids contained in a cup is lifted to contact the tip of a tube where the solids are e ntrained and transported out of the feeder by a flow of gas. This devi ce, which is analogous to a piston pump for liquids, is capable of pre cise metering of low flows of solids and clean flow shutoff. For stead y solids flow, it was found necessary to maintain the solids bed in a state of incipient fluidization. Its flow characteristics and the lack of tight mechanical clearances made this feeder well-suited for use i n a cyclic laboratory FCC riser reactor where solids are metered at te mperatures up to 1030-degrees-K. The operation of this unit is briefly described. The moving cup feeder may be useful in one-shot dispensing of a solids load or in other cyclic applications where the cup can be periodically lowered and refilled.